


Casino Night

by iamavacado



Series: Some Sanders Sides Stories [19]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Rejection, The Office, casino night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:15:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24291922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamavacado/pseuds/iamavacado
Summary: Logan has been in love with Virgil since the day he began working at the office. The night of the big warehouse casino party is when he finally decides to tell him. It doesn't go as planned.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders
Series: Some Sanders Sides Stories [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1037774
Comments: 8
Kudos: 16





	Casino Night

**Author's Note:**

> Been a while since I posted something. Apologies. I've been listening to the Office Ladies podcast and they just recently talked about the season 2 finale. Made me want to write this! Perhaps it's not my best work, but I hope you enjoy regardless.

The night chill hit Logan hard as he walked outside into the parking lot. There was a breeze in the air that wasn't here when they first walked inside, but it was in full force now. Though it helped soothe the thick line of sweat forming at the back of his neck, it did little to slow the rattling in his chest. He went to stick his hands in his pockets, but opted to roll his sleeves down instead. Then he stuck his pockets in his hands anyway, because he couldn't stop himself from picking at his cuticles, and he didn't want Virgil to see. 

Virgil was a few steps ahead of him, walking hand in hand with Roman. Logan stared at their interlocked fingers from behind, slightly swaying back and forth as Virgil's dress shoes clacked against the asphalt. He was wearing a sort of tux--halfway dressed and halfway not. Dress pants were swapped with black jeans, and he wore a suit jacket over a loose fitting dress shirt. 

"It's a work party," Virgil had said that morning, lugging in an overfilled satchel that he shoved under his desk. "I'll match the dress code or I won't. I don't care that much."

Logan had just smiled and chuckled along, joking about barely even thinking to pack a tie. In reality, he'd hung up a dry cleaned suit in the backseat hook of his car. How foolish he would look, he thought. So when the time came to actually get dressed, he opted for just the black dress shirt and blue tie. Virgil seemed to approve. That was good enough.

Roman, surprisingly, was the least dressed out of all of them. He wore a red sweater over a white dress shirt, along with his same work pants. He almost didn't come, but Virgil had convinced him to. Now, however, he was leaving early. Logan didn't try too hard to get him to stay. 

Logan was trying to pay attention to what they were saying, lest they ask him something, but he kept getting pulled back into his thoughts. He could hear snippets, but only a few. 

"I played all the games," said Roman, leading Virgil to his car--a beat up truck.

"I wish you'd stay." Virgil took his hand away from Roman's and clasped his behind his back. Logan couldn't help but focus on this. "For a work party, it's actually pretty fun." 

There was a bit of conversation that passed out of earshot before Logan heard Virgil say, "Come on. Casino night at this place? I thought it'd suck too, but I like it."

Once they reached Roman's truck, Logan stopped a little ways behind. For some reason, he felt like he was invading something. Neither of them seemed to notice, but he made sure to stay a good ten steps away regardless. 

He could see Roman lead Virgil up to the driver's side of the car. They turned to each other and exchanged a few more words. Roman put his hands on Virgil's shoulders. Virgil shrugged them off and gestured to Logan, who quickly looked away. 

When he looked back up, Roman was half smiling as Virgil said something. They both glanced over at Logan. For some reason, Logan felt compelled to give them both a wave. 

Virgil looked back up at Roman and said something more. He then reached on his tiptoes to give Roman a kiss on the cheek. Roman opened the driver's side door and started to get inside as Virgil turned to walk away, towards Logan. Was it Logan's imagination, or did Roman linger just a second longer than he should've as he watched Virgil approach him? 

Virgil smiled as he neared Logan. "Roman's gonna head out early. But I think I'm gonna stay a little while longer." 

Logan nodded, hiding a smile. "Good. Cool. I think I might uh...stay a bit too."

Virgil nudged his shoulder as they passed each other. "Mind being my poker partner?"

That simplest of touches sent a buzz throughout Logan's arm. He tried to shrug it off, but for some reason he felt as if he were going to float away. A rock lumped itself in his throat, and he tried to swallow casually. "Sure. Don't mind taking your money," he joked, hoping to sound normal.

Virgil scoffed. "As if I haven't already cleaned you _out_ Sanders. 

"Oh yeah _right."_

Virgil was about to reply, no doubt with a snarky retort, when they heard Roman's truck rev up. It was a beat up old thing, with chipped red paint showing the original white underneath. It was a home job. They turned to see it pulling forward out of the parking space. It eased into the lot, but turned at the last second so the driver's window was facing the two of them. Logan didn't want to be caught staring, so he turned around and started walking back inside with his hands in his pockets. 

Roman honked the horn. "Hey Sanders!" 

Logan turned around, suddenly strangely embarrassed, like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have. 

"Take care of him all right?" said Roman with his arm hanging out the window. 

Virgil rolled his eyes and started walking. Logan gave one more small wave, saying, "You got it." 

With that, Roman drove off. Logan watched as his truck turned onto the main road and sped out of sight. It was just the two of them now. 

Virgil kept his hand waving until the truck turned the corner. When it was, he let his hand drop. "Ready to go back in?" He said to Logan.

Logan had to shake himself back into the present, and gave Virgil a quick smile that felt more nervous than genuine. He took his hands out of his pockets. Then he put them back in. He glanced at the doors of the warehouse--half open, just enough that he could see the blinking lights of the party inside. Muffled music floated outside, out of earshot to the point that Logan could only bear the drum beats. 

"Um, actually, can I talk to you about something?" 

Virgil must either be drunk, or in a great mood, because he didn't quite seem to catch the tone of Logan's voice. He started joking, "About how you want me to take some more of your money? Cuz we can do that."

Logan chuckled and glanced at the ground. "N-not quite."

"I'd be super game to take more of your money, we can talk about that. Cuz we can go back inside. I'm feeling kind of good tonight."

"I was just, um…"

Virgil locked eyes with Logan, and it seemed to finally click that he wasn't trying to joke. He clasped his hands in front of him, eyebrows now drawn together, which was something he did when he was listening to someone intently. The half smile was still on his face though, which for some reason, struck Logan silent. 

***

_Logan typed away on his computer until he could feel his hands cramp up. He didn't realize that he hadn't taken a break for two hours straight until he went to stretch, hearing his back crack in about five different places. When he looked to see if anyone heard him, he caught Virgil smiling at him from the reception's desk._

_Virgil was eating yogurt--something he often did when things were slow at the office. Logan smiled back at him, and stood up from his chair, making his way over to the desk._

_"How old are you again?" Asked Virgil, scooping another bite into his mouth. "Last time I checked, you weren't an 80 year old man. But your back cracks like one."_

_Logan chuckled. "Very funny."_

_Virgil smiled, and it made Logan's chest twist in a way he couldn't describe. He looked down at Virgil's yogurt. "This is going to sound weird," said Logan. "And there's no reason for me to know this." He pointed at the yogurt container in Virgil's hand. "But that mixed berry yogurt you're eating has expired."_

_Virgil made a face between a confused grimace and an amused smile. He looked down at the yogurt, studying it. "How do you know?"_

_"I don't, I'm just, it's been in the fridge for a while." Logan swallowed but tried to hide it under a joking smile. This was his idea of flirting?_

_Virgil lifted the container up to see the date printed on the bottom. "Well shit." He showed it to Logan. It expired yesterday._

_Then they just looked at each other for what was definitely only about 3 seconds before laughing it off. But it felt longer._

***

Logan's mind split into two distinct paths before him as he looked at Virgil. Really, he was only in thought for about five seconds. But in his head he had lived two separate lifetimes, both stemming from what he was about to say. 

On the one path, he could say what was hiding at the back of his throat. He could finally spit it into the air and Virgil could finally hear it, and he would finally get the answer he'd been waiting to hear since that day. A yes. A simple, firm, emphatic yes. 

He saw them pulling each other close, interlocking their fingers the way Virgil and Roman would so often do. They would go inside together, come out together, and leave. Together. There would be no gray and blurry lines between them. Everything would finally be concrete. 

On the other path, he heard himself joking. Playing his seriousness off as the setup to an elaborate yet not-so-funny quip about how there was no way Virgil would beat him at the next round of Texas Hold 'Em. He saw them walking back inside--Logan with his hands in his pockets and Virgil with his behind his back. 

He saw them smiling at each other from across the poker table. He saw himself leaning over the reception's desk for the foreseeable future, always an arm's length away as Virgil went off and married someone else. He saw himself transferring to another office because he couldn't bear to see them kiss again. He couldn't bear their fingers interlaced together any longer than he already had. He saw himself marrying someone else. He saw Virgil marrying Roman. He saw all of this so quickly. 

He decided he didn't want to see any of it. And so he spoke. 

"I'm in love with you."

Virgil was now the one struck silent. Logan didn't know what exactly he expected Virgil's face to look like when he finally said it. Maybe he'd break out into a grin. Maybe he would get angry. Maybe he would cry. But he didn't expect Virgil to go blank. 

His face had gone completely slack. In fact, it was as if someone had pressed the pause button--he was frozen in place. The only thing that indicated life was the slight watering of Virgil's eyes, and the quivering of his lip as he whispered out, "What?"

Logan waited for him to say something else, as a white hot seed of worry dropped into his stomach. He looked at the ground, unable to keep eye contact any longer. He swore he could feel his throat closing, like he couldn't breathe right. Everything in him suddenly told him that this was a mistake. But how could he back out of it now? "I'm really sorry if that's weird for you to hear. But I needed you to...hear it." 

When Virgil didn't say anything, he tried to backpedal, even though he knew there was no coming back from this. Still, he tried to make excuses for Virgil. Even now. "Probably not good timing, I know that, I just…"

"What are you doing?"

Logan just looked at him. Surely he must know, right? It couldn't have just been Logan. There was no way. At least, that was what he kept telling himself as he forced his eyes to the ground again, unable to keep his composure. _Surely,_ he thought, _you must know what I'm doing._

When he looked back up, Virgil's face was still unchanged. If only much more pale. He was holding his hands together, over his stomach, fingers twisting over and over. He looked like he was trying to hold something that wouldn't stay put. "What do you expect me to say to that?"

Logan felt as if he'd been physically pushed back. Something, anything more than this. He'd been thinking about telling him for weeks--thinking it for months--feeling it for years. How many times had he fantasized about their wedding, their family, their life together? How long had he had to imagine Virgil's response? Of all that time, this reaction never crossed his mind. He was sure Virgil felt the same. There was no way he didn't.

He dared to lock eyes with Virgil. There was nothing in them but growing tears. This had to be a dream. 

Logan felt incapable of speech, but he knew he had to say something. So he said, "I just needed you to know." He looked at the ground, feeling the hot sting of tears burning at the back of his eyes. "Once."

When he looked back up again, Virgil's brows were pulled together, as if he were listening intently. As if Logan could say any more than a few words at a time. "Well, I…" Virgil took in a deep breath, so much so that his shoulders started to go up. Maybe he was bracing himself. "I.." He let the breath out in a shallow, quiet gasp. "I can't."

Logan felt everything leave him. "Yeah," he said, letting his head fall. Why did he think anything different would happen? What was a fiance of three years compared to a friend? A work friend, no less. Was he even a friend? Certainly not after this. 

Virgil's voice shook on the way out. "You have no idea--"

"Don't do that."

"--what your friendship means to me."

Logan shook his head. "Come on." He looked off into the parking lot, where Roman's truck had been sitting moments before. "I don't want to do that. I want to be _more_ than that." 

"Well, I..can't." For a second, his eyes darted around, as if he was expecting Roman to be listening. His voice was absent of any emotion, besides maybe fear. Why would he be afraid? "I'm sorry...if you misinterpreted things." Virgil paused. "Probably my fault." 

Logan felt the tears on his cheeks now. When he looked at Virgil, he could feel all the times they'd brushed hands, arms, fingers. He could see how many times they'd smiled at each other, spent time together, laughed with one another. He could feel the swell of his chest every time he'd made Virgil laugh. He could see the longing hidden behind every secret moment. What could there possibly be to misinterpret?

Again, he didn't say any of this. He couldn't. Instead, he said, "Not your fault. I'm sorry I misinterpreted our friendship." 

With that, he walked back inside, wiping the tears off his face with his hand. Virgil was left standing there, twisting his hands, his engagement ring, staring off into the parking lot. 

***

By that point, the allure of the party inside the warehouse had faded, so Logan opted to go back up to the office. Why he didn't just go home, he didn't know. Maybe he was waiting for something. He decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator--standing still made him feel restless, like he wasn't where he was supposed to be. And truly, he wasn't sure if he could bear seeing the reception desk right now. 

Maybe that was childish. Maybe it was stupid. But Logan didn't care. He lingered in the stairwell for a little longer than he meant to, just running over in his head what he could have done differently. Even though part of him knew that there was nothing he could do about it now. 

But after a while, the stairwell felt empty, too empty, and noiseless, that he didn't want to be in there anymore. So he swallowed hard and made his way up to the office. Maybe he would just sit at his desk and try to get some work done. It was only 11. He could head home when he felt like he could drive. Not that he was drunk. Just shaky. 

By the time he'd made his way up, he could hear talking coming from inside. As he neared, he had to stop near the entrance, frozen. It was Virgil's voice. There was no mistaking it. 

After a few quiet breaths, Logan dared to crack the door open just a bit. Virgil wasn't at the reception's desk. But he could still hear him talking. 

"I don't know Patton, he's my best friend."

Logan waited at this. He waited to hear what Virgil would say next.

"Yeah," Virgil said. "I think I am." 

Before he could stop himself, Logan pushed the door open all the way and turned the corner. Virgil was standing at Logan's desk, on the phone with someone. When he noticed Logan, he quickly said, "I gotta go, I'll call you back." 

As Logan walked in, things seemed to suspend. Time, noise, even the dust floating in the air seemed to freeze. The only thing that was moving was Virgil, turning around, starting to say, "Listen, Logan--"

Before Virgil could finish, Logan leaned in. And he kissed him. 

It was a quiet, hesitant, unsure kiss. Part of him wanted to pull away--he knew it was wrong. Virgil was, of course, taken off guard at first. Logan thought _he_ would pull away, but he didn't. After a halted, shaky moment, Virgil allowed himself to be pulled in, wrapping his arms around Logan's neck. 

A warmness spread throughout Logan's body. He felt unsteady and grounded. Panicked and happy. Terrified and elated. One half of his mind was fighting the other, but he didn't care. Because Virgil was kissing him back. He was kissing him _back._

When he pulled back, there was something on Virgil's face that he couldn't decipher. 

And he thought it was too late to turn back ten minutes ago. That felt like nothing compared to now.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far, drop a comment!


End file.
